How to Use Miracle-Gro Food in a Hydroponic Solution?
Plants grown in hydroponic solutions need to receive all their nutrients from the liquid because they don't have contact with soil. Miracle-Gro fertilizer contains some chemicals that plants need but it lacks other important nutrients that garden plants would normally receive from soil, especially magnesium and calcium. Much of its nitrogen also isn't in a form that plants can use without soil. Miracle-Gro plant food works in a hydroponic solution if you mix it with other ingredients to provide more balanced nutrition. It's inexpensive, though the result still doesn't provide nutrition as complete as commercial hydroponic solutions. Does this Spark an idea?
Other People Are Reading
Things You'll Need
- Bucket
- 1 gallon measure
- Teaspoon measuring set
- Large spoon
- Miracle-Gro tomato plant food
- Epsom salts
- Calcium chloride
Instructions
-
-
1
Fill a bucket with one gallon of water. Use a bucket with graduated markings to indicate a gallon, purchase a pre-measured gallon jug of distilled water, or use a clean gallon jug to measure.
-
2
Add 1 tsp. of Miracle-Gro tomato plant food and stir with a large spoon or stirring paddle until it's dissolved.
-
-
3
Measure 1/4 tsp. of Epsom salts and stir it into the mixture.
-
4
Measure 1/4 tsp. of calcium chloride and stir it in. Use the resulting mixture as your hydroponic solution.
-
1
Tips & Warnings
Monitor the pH of the solution as you would with any hydroponic solution, using a chemical test or electronic pH meter, and adjust it with premixed hydroponic pH adjuster as necessary.
Purchase calcium chloride in stores that sell chemicals for swimming pools, aquariums or melting ice. Purchase Epsom salts in a drugstore.
Avoid using chlorinated or fluoridated tap water, since the extra chemicals may be detrimental to the plants. Hard tap water can also make the solution too alkaline. Distilled water is a safe choice.
